See-Through Mirror
by S2 Intelligence
Summary: Whether six or sixteen, Sonic was still the same cocky, annoying, happy-go-lucky, daredevil that was his archrival and exact opposite...right? Or are they more alike (different) than he first thought? Snapshot at a Sonic Generations AU wherein Shadow tags along to help restore the world, and the Time Eater goes back a little too far. [friendship]


_**S'up? xD So I have a love for stories that involve Sonic's friends learning about a trouble past for him and I guess it's a pretty fun twist to everything, really. So, you know, why not? Writing's free, right? And it's not like we're making money from our fanfiction anyway...**_

_**So, in this AU, Classic Sonic is a lot younger, WAY younger (actually, I don't know what his age was in the game, but he seemed old enough to run at supersonic speeds so...) and, because it kinda makes sense, Shadow is around to help restore 'color and life' to the white limbo place because he can run as fast as Sonic. Tried my best to keep them in-character, which I think I've done well enough, but you decide. xD Oh, and since everyone uses the Olgilvie Maurice thing, so I thought, you know, why not?**_

**_Disclaimer: Hn, I don't want to deal with copyright and legal issues so that's SEGA's problem, not mine, and they own Sonic and company. Kapish?_**

**_Enjoy! *wave*_**

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"You're scaring him, Shadz." he warned, putting a hand on Shadow's shoulder to pull him back. "Let me handle this."

"Don't call me that…" the ultimate lifeform grumbled under his breath, but complied, crossing his arms and scowling like he always did. He watched as the Sonic moved forward until he was an arm's length away from the small, crying blue hedgehog from the past, brought to them by the crazy, time machine-monster that was wrecking the place.

Typical behavior, he thought, for the blue hedgehog to want to help the toddler, who looked tired and starving, as if he had not eaten in days. He couldn't be more than five or six, but he glared at them like they were a threat he was used to facing, full of hatred and malice even if his form was clearly trembling with fear.

"Leave me alone!" The child yelled defiantly, his voice high pitched in a mixture of anger and fear. "Don't come any closer!"

"Hey, it's okay, calm down." Sonic said, crouching down on the ground so that he was at eye level with the child, Shadow standing a good two meters away from them, observing indifferently. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yes you are!" The child yelled again. "I bet you're one of those 'bots everyone's fighting."

Shadow sighed, turning away. It didn't take a genius to note the same blue – although lighter for the younger one – fur, the same peach arms and torso, and the similar voices, one only deeper due to physical maturity (mental, to the ultimate lifeform, was clearly on the same level, if not regressed). As soon as he had laid his eyes on him, he knew that that blue hedgehog was the faker himself, from when he was younger.

Whoever or whatever was causing this time rift was going to pay. Shadow did not want to have to deal with _two_ Sonics.

"No, I'm not, we're not robots. I promise." He heard Sonic say in a calm, soothing voice, and he could hear him shuffling a bit, probably leaning forward to show that he was, in fact, organic. "See? All flesh and bone, no metal. Him too. You can trust me."

It wasn't until a few moments later that the kid's reply came. "Daddy says I shouldn't talk to people I don't know."

Strange, Shadow thought. His younger self was more distrusting then he was now, even at an age known for its innocence and naivety. He had always thought it was in his doppelganger's nature to be kind and friendly towards strangers and 'believing in the good in everyone' regardless of what they've done or been through. Seemed he had a different view in his childhood.

Not that Shadow cared, of course. Sonic didn't have problems, didn't have ghosts that plagued his conscience or memories that haunted his dreams, not like Shadow, who was still troubled by the Ark, by his regrets with Maria, by his immortality and having to watch everything around him die and be nothing more than centuries' worth of faded images.

No, Sonic could afford to be the carefree, arrogant teenager that he was. He had the privilege to live life with nothing to hold him down, nothing to keep him from moving forward. It was this reason that Shadow called him his archrival, due to their different views of the world, aside from their matched abilities. To him, his lighter counterpart's age didn't matter; the child in front of him would still grow up to be the same hedgehog that could infuriate him with just his presence.

"Well then, I'm Sonic." The elder blue hedgehog offered to gain his trust, not missing a beat. "That guy over there is my pal, Shadow, and we're here to help you. What's your name?"

Shadow glanced back at his rival from the corner of his eye in surprise and mild disbelief. Sonic wasn't stupid, that much he was willing to admit, but didn't he see the problem with giving his younger self his own name when he so obviously didn't even register where and when he was? Wouldn't that cause him to ask questions of 'how' and 'why' when they themselves didn't know the exact reasons why the fabrics of time were coming loose?

The child, however, instead of looking surprised or disturbed, replied "Olgilvie Maurice, but my parents call me Maurice."

"Olgi – _what?"_ Shadow asked, shocked and incredulous, as he turned back to the pair, staring at them. In spite of this strange revelation, he could not prevent the mocking tone in his voice from leaking out at the new information he could use to blackmail his rival, and a smirk was already playing at his face.

The younger one, however, glared at Shadow as he replied heatedly "I _said,_ my name is Olgilvie Maurice. Something wrong?"

His steely tone dared either one of them to make fun of his name in spite of his reddening cheeks.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Maurice." 'Sonic' said, glancing back at Shadow to glare at him, his expression screaming _you're-not-making-this-any-easier-so-shut-up-and-leave-this-to-me_. When Shadow continued to keep a straight face, he turned back to the younger blue hedgehog. "So, where are your parents?"

"They're out, fighting." Maurice replied, pulling up his knees in front of him as he yawned. "Mommy hid me under some blankets and said she'd come back for me later."

"Who're they fighting?" Sonic asked, his tone making it apparent that he was genuinely confused.

"The bad guy with the robots." Maurice's childish face turned to a scowl in spite of his drooping eyelids. "He has this weird laser gun that turns people into 'bots. Daddy and mommy went out to stop him."

Shadow knitted his eyebrows in suspicion, dropping his arms to his side. It was obvious that he was referring to Eggman and his roboticizer, one of his more sinister machines that turned anyone it hit into mindless drones which he commanded into his personal army.

What cause him to snap his eyes to his rival was the fact that this child, him, had already encountered the doctor and his machine at such an early age. Once more, his parents were out fighting it, when, if he were to believe the file reports GUN had, it was Sonic who finally wrecked the machine, and at a much older age than the toddler in front of them.

Instead of returning his gaze, however, Sonic pressed forward, an almost urgent tone to his voice. "Maurice, how long have you been waiting for your parents to come back?"

"Huh?" Maurice blinked rapidly. "A few days, I think. The sun left but didn't take the light so I don't know what time it is."

Shadow heard Sonic gulp and saw his fists clench then unclench on the ground. From his silence and shaking head, he seemed to be at an indecision with himself, until finally he gave a long, tired sigh.

"Hey, Maurice, if you've been waiting for so long, maybe you should get some sleep." Sonic said softly, scooting closer and lifting him up so that he sat atop his crossed legs. "Your parents wouldn't want you to be tired when they come back, right?"

"But what if they come back and I'm asleep?" Maurice asked with closed eyes that struggled to open.

"We'll stay with you." Sonic said, shifting to make the younger hedgehog more comfortable, wrapping his arms around him. "That way, you'll be awake when you need to be."

"Okay…" Maurice whispered, snuggling closer to Sonic's chest. "…thank you…"

Shadow watched as Sonic began stroking the younger's quills gently, and not five minutes had passed when he started to snore softly, curled in around himself across his older version's lap.

Carefully, Sonic lifted him out of his lap and onto the ground, fixing his position into the most comfortable one, tucking him in. With one last stroke of his quills, Sonic got up and started to walk away.

"Come on, Shadz." He said as he passed the black hedgehog, voice light and upbeat like it always was. "Tails says we have to keep running through the place if we wanna get everything back to normal."

Shadow turned to follow him, asking with a raised eyebrow "You're going to just leave him there?"

"He'll be fine." Sonic said dismissively, waving a hand in the air.

"Sonic." Shadow said, grabbing the other speedster by the wrist, stopping him from his march and forcing him to face him. The ultimate lifeform did not say anything, instead giving him a long and hard stare that was more of a piercing look than a heated glare.

Sonic however, returned his gaze with a bored one, his eyelids half closed and his mouth in a thoughtful frown. "What do you want me to do, Shadow? Take him with us? Tell him his parents will come back for him when they won't?"

This caused Shadow's eyes to widen and he released his hold of him, trying to understand what he meant. "You remember?"

"Yeah…" He ran his hand through his quills in the same motion he did to his younger self. "They got turned at first shot. I only figured it out about a week later when our neighbors came looking for me."

The casual and plain tone that he said it with made him cross his arms disapprovingly at the blue speedster. "Why didn't you tell him, then?"

"I dunno…" he said with a shrug. "It just didn't seem right, you know? That kid's life revolved around his family, I couldn't just tell him his whole world had already crashed without him even knowing it did..."

Shadow studied his rival closely as his words trailed off. He had just been faced with the memory of his own parents' death, something the ultimate lifeform had never even known he had, and yet he seemed perfectly normal, as if it didn't affect him. Had it been himself, Shadow would have been at least a little saddened and dejected, if not completely depressed and regretful, like whenever he remembered Maria and Gerald and the Ark from so long ago.

And while Sonic was a bit more subdued and quiet than he usually was, his shoulders were still squared proudly and his head was still held high with his chin in the air, and already he was starting to tap his foot in impatience.

"Done with the questions, Shadz?" He asked, an eyebrow raised curiously, his hands resting on his hips.

There was one thing, however, that still bothered the black hedgehog, one last thing he needed to understand. "Do you not miss them?"

"Of course I do." Sonic stared at him like he was crazy. "I miss them every day. But I've put that in the past behind me so I don't get depressed about it, that's all."

'_That's all?_' Shadow repeated to himself, giving the other a searching look. Was it really that easy for him to move on, to forget? Or did he just choose to let go of his past in favor of running forward? Was this the lesson Sonic kept trying to teach him and the others, a lesson he himself had come to live by and lead by example?

The blue hedgehog flashed him a smile, nothing like the cocky smirk or the overly dazzling grin he always had. It was just what it was, plain and simple, to show that he was genuinely confident and happy, like nothing could get to him, like nothing could stop him.

Typical, Shadow thought, adopting a bored look.

"Good to see you haven't changed." He deadpanned, crossing his arms over himself.

"Aw, I didn't know you cared, Shadz." His reflection said with a laugh, getting into a running position and taking off, shouting "Race ya!"

"...I didn't know either, faker." He sighed to himself, taking off as well. He was _not_ going to come second behind the blue furball that was his rival and friend.

Ever.

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_**Reviews are still very much welcomed and appreciated, regardless of who they're coming from (expect for this one dudette I know personally, but it's not like she'll care to read this anyway and she won't even dignify this with a flame so that doesn't really matter to me). I look forward to writing more for and about Sonic, who will forever remain my favorite blue hedgehog xD**_

_**Thank you for reading! :)**_


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